Ash
by kurokenshi08
Summary: Ash Ketchum of Pallet didn't want to be a Trainer, but faced with no choice, he goes along with it. Given a Charmander by his adopted grandfather, Professor Oak he is sent out into the wilds, where even the most docile of Pokemon can turn deadly. Knowing that the only way to survive long enough to get a happy ever after is to become the best, can Ash become a Pokemon Master?
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note:**

**This story was inspired by Red, by Curse of the Ninth, and Sun Soul by 50caliberchaos.**

**This story will be portraying an OOC Ash, but doesn't all fanfic do something similar?**

_**Disclaimer:**_I own nothing.

Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, did _not_ want to be a Pokemon Trainer. Who would? Ash wasn't delusional, not like all the other kids anyways. He wasn't blind or stupid enough to think that the world outside of his little town was a safe paradise, not when it had already claimed both his parents.

His adoptive grandfather, the renowned professor Oak, had explained to him that Pokemon were not harmless creatures. They were terrifying, lurking beasts, and even the smallest could tear a man apart with minimal effort.

A Charmander, was one of the three starter Pokemon handed out to ten year old starters. There nails were claws, and even a playful swipes could create gouges capable of bleeding a man dry. There teeth, two perfectly pearly rows of teeth, were made for processing meet, a gift given to them by their draconian ancestors. If met with a wild charmander, there is every chance you'll be eaten. That's before you get onto their powers. Does the ability to spit fire sound safe?

A simple ember attack could leave a man with their degree burns, while a full powered flamethrower would result in instant death.

On top of the inherent danger Pokemon represent there would be the regional criminals like Team Rocket, and their yolk. Thieves and murderers, who form collective crime syndicates, and whose goals are unclear. With them around, not even the large towns are safe.

No, Ash had no desire to become, a Pokemon trainer, but as of today, he would be one.

Simply because he had no clue what to do with himself. He knew that he couldn't live off of his grandfathers hospitality forever. Be it tomorrow, the day after, or a eight years from know (when he turned eighteen), he would eventually have to rely on himself. He would have to get a job and make money, and he would have to support himself. Or he could become a hobo and live on the streets, but that wasn't a choice that Ash was considering.

How he did it was what he had a choice in. Everyone had a choice in that. The first choice was to enroll at civilian school at nine, where they would learn the basic skills required to gain employment in later life, and civilian careers were rather diverse. This was the choice that most people chose, mostly because parents prefer this choice, due to its safety. No one wants to learn that there kid was found lying dead in a ditch somewhere, after all.

Ash didn't choose this, mainly because it would mean acting a year early. He did not want to get to work a year early, preferring to laze around, and with no parents to push him, and a grandfather who was busy with whatever research project he was working on, Ash didn't have to do anything.

His next two (also his final two) options would come today, and three years from now.

The two options that the Kanto Governing body, also known as The League, would prefer that children went with.

The war with Hoenn hadn't come cheap after all.

The first, and the one he had chosen, was to become a Pokemon trainer. Pokemon trainers were the reserve forces for the Kanto army, and served a major role in population control for local Pokemon, a population check on local humans, they served as entertainment, guard forces, and militia men.

Pokemon trainers, like the name suggested, tamed and trained wild Pokemon, through any means necessary, with an emphasis on any means. Pokemon were dangerous, and everyone knew it. Time and time again, news articles showed Pokemon killing humans, invading cities, and slaughtering towns.

Fun fact, did you know there used to be a town in between Pallet and Viridian? A checkpoint on route one, where beginning trainers would go to purchase equipment (namely pokeballs), in order to make there first captures. It was destroyed by a few flocks of Spearows lead by two Fearow's. The Gym trainers from Viridian were too late to do anything.

Common consensus was that it was better that a Pokemon be harmed than a human, and as such, trainers were given a longer and longer leash on how to train their Pokemon.

Come Modern Day, Pokemon were no longer being viewed as living beings, instead they were classified under Kanto Law, as semi sentient objects. The only Pokemon that were now protected by law were those who were captured by trainers. After all, destruction of property was illegal, was it not?

Pokemon Trainers, especially those who chose to settle down in cities, were given certain privileges (like being exempt from taxes), in exchange, they served as a cities first line of defense against Pokemon invasions.

In addition, Pokemon Trainers stopped Pokemon invasions from becoming too powerful, as they captured Pokemon to tame, hunted wild Pokemon for food , and killed wild Pokemon while training keeping the numbers low.

When wars started, and general soldier numbers ran low, Trainers served as elite forces. A Trainer with a Gyarados was more than a match for your average submarine, or ship, while a Charizard could annihilate any plane.

Due to all there services to the local population, Trainers, especially good Trainers, were given a celebrity like status.

How to tell whether a trainer is good or not? Why, through the greatest spectator sport of all time, of course. Pokemon Battling.

The art of tossing two Pokemon against each other, while the humans stood behind them and barked out orders, was the clearest demonstration of human superiority. It was the leagues way of showing the world that despite how ferocious, and how powerful Pokemon may be, the human was in control. The human was giving the orders while the Pokemon, the mindless savage, was obeying.

Pokemon battles was also the way Trainers earned money, with wins earning them cash, while losses lost them Pokemon and cash. On top of all this, it also raised the Pokemon in terms of strength, and increased the Trainers strategic aptitude, resulting in more competent soldiers.

It was the path of a Pokemon Trainer that Ash had decided to walk, and it was this path, that brought him to the entrance of his grandfathers lab.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter II Part I: I choose you**

As Ash walked into the lab calling "Grandpa," he was hit by a wave of nostalgia. This would be the last time he saw this place in a while. Granted that he survived, he might come back someday.

"Hello, Ash. You've come for your Pokemon right?" the smiling face of Professor Oak greeted Ash, as Oak stepped out from behind a book shelf, presumably storing away notes on something or another.

"Yes, I am, grandfather." Ash said, trying to be formal. It was one of the defining moments of his life, for better or worse. Probably for worse, but hey, you never know. Something good might come out of this... yeah, probably not.

"Good, good, not much to say besides the generic questions, like, are your ready?" Oak asked/stated.

"No, but I don't have a choice at this point." Ash muttered.

Oak looked at his grandson for a few seconds, trying to figure out whether to reply to that, before choosing not to, and saying, "So which of the three starters did you want?"

Ah, the three starters, the water starter, Squirtle, the grass starter, Bulbasaur, and the fire starter, Charmander.

Squirtle was also known as the turtle Pokemon, and evolved into Wartortle, and finally Blastoise, and ash had to admit, Blastoise looked awesome. It had two canons sticking out of its back. How cool is that?

As a Blastoise, it would weigh nearly 188.5 lbs, and stand at 5'3'', so while not the largest Pokemon, simply bumping into a human could still cause moderate amounts of damage. An actual attack, even a tackle could do more serious damage, thanks to its weight.

A Bulbasaur evolved into a Venesaur, also known as the biological nightmare. Venesaur was among the more powerful grass poison combinations on the planet, which gave it a diverse stat effect move pool, allowing it to play with battlefield to its hearts content. A strong Venesaur could eat other poisons and reproduce it giving it multiple versions of attacks like Poison Powder, and Stun Spore.

A Venesaur's potential is best exploited by a skilled trainer with good memory in terms of remembering the different customized powders, Venesaur could produce.

Despite all this, put crudely, Ash couldn't give a shit about either of those Pokemon.

Why? The third Pokemon outclassed them both.

A charmander, evolves into a Charizard, a dual flying/fire type, with a dragon egg group. Yeah, that's right, a dragon. As in those highly overpowered uber monsters that trounced everything. Need proof? The champion for Jhoto was the dragon specialist, Lance. The Champion for Sinnoh was the dragon specialist Cynthia. The Orange Island Champion was Drake, a dragon specialist. The list goes on, but there was one thing everyone could agree with. Dragons were abnormally strong, and they were abnormally rare.

Only the strongest trainers could successfully find, raise, and tame dragons.

Ash wasn't one of the strongest trainers, and he had no plans to be. His understanding of battles were limited to having the Pokemon keep him alive. What better than a dragon to get it done? Plus, once Charmander evolved into a Charizard, it could fly, and that would keep him out of harms way. He could fly to Celadon, skipping Pewter and Cerulean City, and the badge no problem.

It was with all this in mind, that Ash said, "I'll take Charmander."

Oak nodded, and handed his grandson the Pokeball containing Charmander, which Ash graciously took, before choosing not to open it. It was better to get himself a weapon before greeting his new Pokemon. Just in case it turned out to be not as tamed as expected.

It was probably better to also get a good look at its move pool with his Pokedex, to figure out how it might attack him. Unleashing the best and being prepared for a charge and scratch combo, only to get a stationary ember was not how he wanted to do this.

He was brought out of his thoughts, when Oak said, "Okay, here are your five pokeballs, your pokedex, the 500 pokedollar's that the league gives the starting trainers, and the additional 1,000 I'm giving you as your grandfather. Now that your all set, feel free to get going."

Ash nodded at the dismissal, politely saying, "Have a nice day."

Most of his talks with his grandfather was like this. Distant and cordial. Like they were strangers and in a sense they were. Strangers that lived under the same roof were still strangers after all.

Ash turned to leave when his grandfather called out, "Oh, and Ash, here's some advice. Go straight to Viridian and head to the Pokemart. Stock up on potions there, before coming back to Route One. Stay there for a few weeks to train, before considering your next move."

Ash paused before nodding at the advice and continuing onward.

**Authors Note:**

**I had a lot planned for this chapter, but its 10 o'clock, and i have school in the morning, so I decided to pack up. I'll reload this chapter in a few days with revisions and I'll complete the rest of it. **

**Cya. **


End file.
